BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 21. Armenian separatist Ruben Vardanyan's son, businessman David Vardanyan co-sponsored anti-Azerbaijani campaign during COP29, Trend reports via the report titled "Hybrid attacks against COP29: Our society must not become a victim of hybrid threats!" by Azerbaijani Parliament's Commission against Foreign Interference and Hybrid Threats.
According to the publication, One of the reasons for the acceleration of the negative campaign against COP29 was the involvement of companies with experience in the field of PR and the formation of a negative image by wealthy businessmen.
“As a result of the research, it became clear that wealthy businessmen such as David Vardanyan and Noubar Afeyan are organizing hybrid attacks with the maximum use of financial resources and personal connections in a campaign against Azerbaijan,” the report said.
Furthermore, the report pointed out that the tactics of the Vardanyan-Afeyan tandem in the anti-Azerbaijani campaign are based on involving well-known PR companies, Hollywood stars, wealthy American businessmen, influential families, and government officials in certain projects. By abusing people's trust, they carry out their nefarious activities under the guise of charitable events through the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative Foundation and the Aurora Prize they established. Recently, they welcomed Chelsea Clinton, a member of the Clinton family, into the Aurora Prize Selection Committee. Additionally, several members of the selection committee are engaged in activities against COP29 and Azerbaijan.
“At the same time, the Vardanyan family involved the PR company Edelman, which has been involved in a number of scandals, and the law firm Perseus Strategies. Edelman is conducting a campaign on social networks under the hashtags #FreeRubenVardanyan and #FreeArmenianPrisoners,” the report reads.
Besides, the publication highlighted that their goal is to organize mass attacks on Azerbaijan by gaining support on a global scale, exerting pressure through petitions and letters, and involving various officials, private organizations, and media outlets. On their website, www.freearmenianprisoners.com, they create the illusion that Ruben Vardanyan's campaign is allegedly supported by 109 countries, including Azerbaijan, in an attempt to add credibility to their claims.
"In the appeal titled 'Ruben Vardanyan and other Armenian leaders: the anniversary as political prisoners in Azerbaijan', it's clear which states and organizations are working with the "Edelman" company. French PR company Havas also provides particular support to the Vardanyan family on this matter. Interestingly, Edelman, which has been involved in several scandals, provided services to companies denying climate change and global warming 10 years ago, as revealed in a study by The Guardian.
As for Perseus Strategies and its head, Jared Genzer, besides his anti-Azerbaijani activities as a legal advisor to the Vardanyan family, he is also running a broad campaign against Azerbaijan through his created international 'human rights' NGO, Freedom Now," the report also said.
The report mentioned that Freedom Now, in collaboration with other "well-known" NGOs, continuously engages in activities against COP and Azerbaijan, and this supported by photographic evidence.
Another interesting fact is related to the Argentine Luis Moreno Ocampo, who was the first prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. He is a member of the International Legal Advisory Council of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights. The head of Perseus Strategies, Jared Genzer, is the chairman of the Organization of the Americas. Meanwhile, Eduardo Ernekian, an Armenian-born billionaire from Argentina known as "El Armenio," is the chairman of the Raoul Wallenberg International Foundation.
Aside from the similarity in the names of both organizations, there are also close connections between the leadership figures. The fact that Ocampo is a compatriot of Ernekian only raises further doubts. In the past month alone, Ocampo has made over 120 biased publications against Azerbaijan and COP29 on his social media page, as the report states.
At the same time, it is emphasized that a coordinated campaign was conducted through social media using a range of hashtags, primarily #COP29, #COPOUT29, #cop29exposed, #COP29Exposed, #BoycottCOP29, #ProtestCOP29. Analyzing the hashtags #FreeRubenVardanyan, #FreeArmenianPrisoners, #FreeArmenianHostages, #Enthegagrule, #greenwashing, #stopgreenwashgenocide, #stopwhitewashgenocide, and others shows that the campaign is being conducted from a single center, particularly through profiles associated with individuals of Armenian descent, the report emphasized.
The report, as well, noted that there were observed facts of coordinated and massive use of fake accounts in most profiles.
“Fake profiles manipulate content through bot systems, while simultaneously publishing automated replies with the same content to posts made regarding COP29, and thus take actions aimed at misleading public opinion,” the report added.
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